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Flushing, a diverse community in New York City's borough of Queens, is one of the busiest NYC areas outside of Manhattan. The intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, just outside the entrance to the number 7 subway, is the busiest intersection in the outer boroughs. Street vendors and outdoor markets are a common sight in downtown Flushing, and its other neighborhoods include the largely residential North Flushing and the Waldheim subdivision. Flushing is home to numerous attractions including the New York Mets' Citi Field baseball stadium and the annual U.S. Open tennis event.

Sports Facilities

Citi Field (newyork.mets.mlb.com), the home of the New York Mets, opened in 2009. Built directly across from Shea Stadium, the team's previous ball park, Citi Field holds 41,800 people. The stadium entrance leads to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, which honors the Brooklyn Dodgers great. Fans can enjoy a family entertainment arcade, featuring video game stations and a batting cage, behind the center-field scoreboard. Citi Field is next to the Mets-Willets Point stop on the 7 train. The United States Tennis Association -- Billie Jean King Tennis Center (usta.com) hosts the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament every summer. The complex contains 22 indoor courts and the Arthur Ashe Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 23,200. Flushing Meadows Park, next to the center, has 11 outdoor courts. All facilities are open to the public. The center offers summer tennis camp for kids as well as private and group lessons.

Botanical and Backyard Gardens

The Voelker Orth Museum (vomuseum.org) promotes urban gardening and backyard bird sanctuaries. Visitors can stroll through the museum's Victorian garden, where plants attract many bird species. The property's Victorian house, bequeathed for educational use by the owner's daughter, stands as a testament to life during the early 1900s. A small admission fee is required. The Queens Botanical Garden (queensbotanical.org) opened during the 1939 World's Fair. It includes gardens devoted to roses, perennial plants, herbs and annual plants. The Wedding Garden, which is available for ceremonies by appointment, has a gazebo and footbridge. Visitors can tour all the gardens for free in the winter and for a minimal fee the rest of the year.

Zoos and Wildlife

While zoos in the other boroughs may be more famous, Queens has its own wildlife haven. The Queens Zoo (queenszoo.com) features mammals, birds and reptiles native to the Americas. Owls and elk share the Woodland Trail exhibit with lynx and puma. The South American Trail includes the pudu, the world's smallest deer, and is the only New York City zoo to feature Andean, or spectacled, bears. The zoo also has a sea lion pool and a farm exhibit. The Queens Zoo is sometimes referred to as the Queens Wildlife Conservation Center.

Chinatown

Downtown Flushing has the second largest Asian community in New York City, next to Manhattan's Chinatown. Main Street, just off the subway station, is lined with Chinese and Korean shops, restaurants and bakeries. Sample a coconut cream bun, custard tart or other delicacy from the busy Tai Pan Bakery (no website; 3725 Main St., Flushing; 718-888-1111), which also serves meals like shark's fin soup. The Imperial Palace (no website; 13613 37th Ave., Queens, NY 11354; 718-939-3501) is a New York Magazine Critic's Pick for its Chinese seafood specialties. Queens Crossing Mall (queenscrossing.com) offers several Asian-themed stores, including Irresistible Home Decor (e888decor.com) and Jambangee, which sells Korean-influenced clothing for young women.